On the eve of its annual showcase event on Sunday, the Hong Kong Jockey Club has been embarrassed by two more positive swab findings. Rookie trainer Danny Shum Chap-shing was informed by officials yesterday his recent winners, Recognition and By Instinct, had provided post-race urine samples containing hydroxyomeprazole.
The substance is the same one found in Geoff Lane's recent winner, Favourite Express, and also in Tony Cruz-trained Nasa Pearl, after it was second in a race last month.
'There is an on-going inquiry into these new findings so we cannot make much comment on them at this time,' said Jockey Club executive director of racing Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges yesterday. 'However, I can say that it is of some concern to us to now have four positives to the very same substance in such a short period.'
The substance, hydroxyomeprazole, is understood to be a component of anti-ulcer medications such as E-gard, an unusual batch of which was found to be the source of a series of positive findings to the substance in Britain recently.
The positive findings emerged from the routine samples taken from first and second place-getters in every Hong Kong race, and stipendiary stewards issued a release yesterday explaining the circumstances of the finding following the horses' wins on November 30 and December 3.
The report said blood samples from both horses had been found to be negative, just as the post-race bloods from Nasa Pearl and Favourite Express had been.
